Danielle St Pierre
By: Debbie

popYOUlarity: For those that have never heard of you before, introduce yourself and say one interesting thing about yourself.
Danielle: I'm Danielle St. Pierre, a singer from Vancouver and originally from Edmonton. Something interesting about myself... I'd have to say something interesting is that I am a real family person. I have five brothers and sisters, I'm the youngest. I have a half-sister as well, so that's seven of us all together. I'm really lucky because I'm really close to all of them. That's something that not a lot of people out there I think really know of. I kinda keep it private, but they're my best friends and that's something I'm really proud of.

popYOUlarity: How did you feel after the car accident last year? While recovering did you ever lose sight of your dream?
Danielle: No, actually, that's what helped me through it a lot, my dream of singing. When I first had the accident, because my chest was hurt the worst, I couldn't sing one note without extreme pain. The doctors told me it would be a few years before I could sing again at all. It's a big part of me that I love, so I was even more determined to get back to it quicker. It only took a year before I could sing a slow song again. I'd even try all the time to sing just one note without pain, then it just wnet up to one phrase and so on. I'm quite proud to say I never lost sight of my dream. I always knew in my heart that this is the what I was going to do, and I wasn't going to give it up.

popYOUlarity: So you've been interested in music all your life?
Danielle: Actually I have pictures of when I was three years old up at the paino with a toy mic singing my heart out. I'm lucky to say that it was something I was born in to. I never had to search for what I wanted to do. My mom owned a musical theatre company so I grew up with that as well. I never want to do anything else, I always knew this was it. Very cool.

popYOUlarity: How does it make you feel to keep achieving titles such as "Best Female Vocals" and "Most Promising Independant Artist in Canada"?
Danielle: It's wonderful. I cherish it very much. That's another thing the accident brought me, I cherish everything that happens, evenry little step I make. I find it very flattering too. Some of those, like "Best Female Vocals" are voted on by people who are listening to it. That almost means more than the industry praise, althought that's wonderful too! It's encouraging because you know you are on the right path. Part of the reason I do this is to touch other people. Knowing that I'm doing that, I even make one person smile that day or whatever, really means a lot to me. That's what comes out of those kind of things for me.

popYOUlarity: What song do you plan on releasing next?
Danielle: I'm hoping to release one that I've written, because the first single I had released was one I co-wrote. The next one will be "With You" for my album. That's one I'm very proud of. It's a beautiful song. I hear from a lot of fans that use it at their wedding and stuff. I'd do that one next if I could.

popYOUlarity: How does it feel when you hear yourself on the radio or see yourself in the newspaper?
Danielle: It makes me feel proud, like I'm getting somewhere. It makes me feel grateful for all the people, because in this industry you can't get anywhere without the help of other people. Knowing that they think you are good enough to support you and put something nice about you, or give you that exposure, says a lot. I'm sure you found that out with your feature. They obviously think it's something if they are doing it.

popYOUlarity: Can we expect to see any Vancouver or other Canadian dates soon?
Danielle: Yes actually. I'm in talks with a theatre in town, but I don't want to say the name yet. I'm in talks with them to do a full evening which would be really nice because I haven't been performing a lot in town. I've been out of the country and performing elsewhere a lot. I'm getting a lot of requests for that, so it's soemthing I'm going to be working on in the next few months. I'll let you know if it happens.

popYOUlarity: When you go back on tour, is there anyone you'd like to tour with?
Danielle: Oh man... you know a lot of people laugh at me because I'm a huge Berry Manilow fan. I love him. I've loved him since I was a little girl and I know he's not here right now, I actually saw him when he was in Vancouver. I would just die to be on tour with him. He has that romantic feel that my music has and he's been my idol ever since I was little. That would be a dream come true.

popYOUlarity: Is there anyone you'd like to do a duet with?
Danielle: That's a good one. I'm a real guy singer girl. When I'm listening to music I always like guys. Brian McKnight is one of my favourites. He would be wonderful, if I could get myself off the floor to do it!

popYOUlarity: Do any of your songs have special meaning to you?
Danielle: There's one, I think the third one on my CD, called "Ready to Achieve". It was written bya gentleman in Maryland. It's really about holding on to your dreams and getting up in the morning knowing what you want to do. I'm a very determined person and very passionate about my music, because I love it so much. That song really conveys what I feel regarding sticking to yout dream and not letting it pass you by. Always be ready to go for it, because I know fear can sometimes get in the way. That one, and I'd have to say "You Are the One". It's one of my favourites and I co-wrote it.

popYOUlarity: If you were on the cover of the National Enquirer, what would the headline say?
Danielle: They'd probably have a big picture of me in my flannel pajamas with my hair on top of my head. When I'm home I love just to relax. I'm such a girl. I'm a very feminine person. When I'm out and about I'm polished, so when I get home I just look horrible. It'd probably have something to with that, the real identity of Danielle St. Pierre.

popYOUlarity: What do you think sets you apart from all the other female singers like yourself?
Danielle: There's so many talented people out there, and there's so many unrecognized talented people as well. One thing I'm proud of is that my mom actually taught me my singing all my life. One thing she taught me was to sing from the heart all the time. I feel like I stand out from some other artists because I really sing from the heart. I'm very emotional, it's not just singing words to me. Everything has an emotion and I try to convey that through the music.

popYOUlarity: How long did it take you to record your first album?
Danielle: It probably took me eight months all together. I took it easy, did it one song at a time. I spent a lot of time finding and writing the best music I could. I could have chosen to write all the music but I wanted to make sure I had the best songs not matter whoe wrote them. I spent a lot of time doing that, and my very talented producer did basically all the instrumentations except for a couple guest players. It took him quite a while to go through and produce and arrange everything. We ended up doing about one song a month. I'm time oriented. In my life I'm very calm and patient person about everything, but when it comes to my career I'm just like "oh my god! When is stuff going to happen?" I try and do stuff in the periods of time I have in my mind.

popYOUlarity: What do you bring on the road with you so you always have a bit of hoem with you?
Danielle: I bring a picture of my parents, and come to think of it, my special scrunchie just to put my hair up. When I have some down time in my hotel I like to have my hair back and have the picture of my parents beside the bed. It makes me feel at home because they are really important to me.

popYOUlarity: Is there anything else you'd like to say to the readers of popYOUlarity.com?
Danielle: I really hope that everyone follows their dreams and never gives up on them. If you just trust in the path you are going in and you're following your heart, everything works out good.